Ahh... The crux of the book that Martin Luther referred to as "the epistle of straw" because of it's focus on works. And this is the section that has caused significant argument from the church. Let's take our time going through here and carefully examine exactly what is being said by James.
Immediately at vs. 14 he hits us with the first slap: What good is it to have faith without deeds? That is bound to get ones ire up, isn't it? I mean, Paul clearly states in Ephesians 2:8 that is is by faith we have been saved, not by works. By faith, and faith alone. After all, if we were saved by works, then there would be people (Mother Theresa again) who wouldn't need Christ. And if there were one single person who didn't need Jesus, then none of us would because we would all be capable of saving ourselves. So obviously, James cannot be talking about salvation here.
So what is he talking about? I think verse 18 sums it up nicely. "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.'
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. I love this verse, especially the second half. He is telling us that our deeds are a reflection, a result, of what we believe. Simply put (although I am sure to make it complex) Jesus died not just to justify us, but also to sanctify us. Justification means that we are made just, right before God. Justice has been done in the death of Christ. Sanctification, on the other hand, means being made holy by the work of the Spirit in our lives. In 1 Peter 1:15,16 God commands us to "be holy, as I am holy". The work of the Spirit in our lives makes us holy. Sanctifies us. So, holiness is perfection and, since we are not perfect, saving faith will change us. And that change will be reflected in our deeds.
In other words, if our outward actions don't change, then our inner being hasn't changed. Now we go on to look at proof. In vs. 19 James tells us clearly that belief without change is exactly what demons possess. They believe that there is one God. They believe (but won't admit) that Jesus came to earth, lived as a man, and voluntarily gave up his life in a painful, ignonimous death for us. They believe that those who know Christ AND obey Him are going to heaven. This sounds an awful lot like Sunday Christians. Those who are in church every Sunday and yet have no fruit in their lives. No change.
We are called to be set apart from the world, to be different. In the old Testament God gave many laws for the Jews to follow. Circumcision. Don't eat pork. Don't touch anything dead. Don't borrow money. Have 4 tassels on your cloak. Everything forgiven every 7 years. Why? Sure, some of these were examples of loving your neighbor. But overall the ultimate purpose of many of these laws was to make Israel different. To set them apart. What sets us apart today? Our language (James examines the tongue in Ch.3), our confidence (James Ch. 1), our humility (Ch. 1), our Wisdom (Ch.3), our harmony with each other (Ch 4), our submission to God(Ch 4), our giving (Ch 5), our patience (Ch 5) and our prayers (Ch 5).
Now James gives us concrete evidence that faith and deeds work together. Picture the 110 yr. old man, the 100 yr old woman. Their 10 year old son. God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham believed God. He believed that God could do what He said He would do, which is to make Abraham a great nation (several great nations, in fact - after Isaac he had several more sons through concubines). But if he only believed and didn't act, his faith would not have been a trusting faith. As it was, he took Isaac, tied him up, put him on the alter, pulled out the knife and was about to sacrifice Isaac as he had been told when God stopped him. Abrahams faith in God was reflected in his deeds: He did as God told him to do. This is what James is telling us. We don't need to have huge, extravagant changes in our lives. We simply need to start doing as God tells us to in his word. Remember from the end of Chapter 1: Take care of the poor, love each other, love God.
James gives us another example of faith and deeds. Rahab, the prostitute in Jericho, saw Israel, saw their might, and saw how they had crossed the Jordan during flood season. She knew their God was mighty even if she didn't know Him personally. But she chose to trust the little she did know of Him. So she gave (at great risk to herself and her family) shelter to the spies. She hid them on the roof and lied outright to the King that they had left town. Then she talked with the spies and, based on their God, requested sanctuary for her and her family. This again is an example of faith that works because it is reflected in the actions of the believer.
We can go on and on through the entire old testament with numerous examples of faith that works which is reflected in the actions of the believers, but I don't think we need to (neither did James apparently). His final comment in this section is a summation of his arguments: As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Interestingly the word "spirit" here is the greek "pneuma" as in pneumatic (air powered) or pneumonia (disease of the lungs). This can easily be read "as the body with breath is dead..." - in face, the word pneuma is translated breath several times in the new testament. So if our faith is the body, then the deeds stemming from our body are the life breath of that body. What have we done today as a result of what we belive in spite of worldly wisdom?
Lord, forgive us for not doing everything your word says. Forgive us for listening to the world and following that. I pray for your sanctification, to be made like you here on earth. Spirit, you live in my heart and whisper in my ear what you want me to do. Teach my ears to hear and my heart to obey without question. Give me a faith that is vibrant and steady and strong. A faith that changes how I think and how I act. A faith that lets me take my eyes off myself and fix them on you, and on eternity with you. Lord, without your grace I would look like the rest of the world. I ask that you help me to be different, to stand apart so that people can see you, that you would be glorified in my life. Amen.
